Chapter 2

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**Chapter 2: Request for Collection, Recommendation, and Clicks**

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The evening sunlight pierced through the crimson clouds, illuminating the solemn square of the Adelajang Cathedral. The bishop, holding a small sun that had lost its bright luster, hung it around his neck and turned to walk into the church.

In the center of the square, the beautiful black-robed witch had been reduced to ashes, but her疯狂的笑声和诅咒仿佛还在回荡，让不少人忍不住哆嗦了一下，看了看四周，然后跟着主教和牧师们走进教堂，在主的关注下忏悔着自己的罪行，诚心地做着祈祷。

The dazzling white light still seemed to linger in front of his eyes, and the sacred and overwhelming power it contained could still be faintly felt. Under this impact, Lucien had already accepted his identity, deeply burying everything from his past in his heart, not daring to show the slightest sign of abnormality.

"The power of divine magic is so great. I wonder if I will ever have the chance to learn it?"

Lucien was deeply shaken, but he did not show the reverence that an ordinary person should have. Suddenly, a huge force struck his left shoulder, causing him to involuntarily lean to the left, almost losing his balance.

"Oh, my poor little Evans, you're finally safe. This is all thanks to the Lord's protection. I thought you would end up like your father, never able to stand up again after falling ill. Thank the Lord for letting such a fine young man continue to live."

Lucien, struck by this force, had already come out of his daze. He saw a broad-shouldered brunette woman standing beside him, wiping her tears and repeatedly patting his shoulder with a hand that could rival a bear's paw.

He moved slightly to avoid being patted until he was bleeding, but when he opened his mouth, he found he couldn't say a word. "What should I call this aunt? My full name seems to be Lucien Evans?"

Lucien's dodge made the woman even more sad. "Poor little Evans, you must have been delirious from your illness. Look at your face, so thin you can see the bones..."

Lucien felt extremely awkward. He had just traveled through time, and while he could understand and speak the language, he had no memories. If he responded incorrectly, he might be mistaken for a demon-possessed person. Of course, in a sense, the current Lucien was indeed a soul taken over by a demon.

Fortunately, at this moment, a middle-aged man standing nearby patted the large woman and comforted her, "Elisa, little Evans has just recovered. He must be very weak. Don't bother him. Evan, help your mother, let's go home together."

This middle-aged man was very thin, with a slightly hunched back and slightly graying blond hair. His face, etched with the marks of time, still showed traces of his youthful handsomeness.

But in Lucien's eyes, this middle-aged man was like an angel with a white halo, an angel who had freed him from his awkward and tense situation.

"Aunt Elisa, I'm all better now, just a bit dizzy," Lucien said carefully, trying not to reveal any inconsistencies.

The little boy, Evan, who had brought Lucien to watch the witch burning, half-supported his mother and made a face. "Big brother Lucien isn't the kind of coward who dies from a single illness. Only you still treat him like a little kid who needs to be taken care of."

Aunt Elisa wiped her tears. "Little Evans, seeing you get better, I'm relieved. It's all the fault of that damned, evil, and now in hell witch."

As Evan supported her, Aunt Elisa slowly walked forward, still muttering. "When she first moved into the house next to yours, she was so quiet and beautiful, so gentle and refined. I even thought that if little John could marry such a girl, it would be a blessing from the Lord. But, but she turned out to be a witch, and she even went to the cemetery to steal the remains of the dead to cast evil spells. Fortunately, the Lord's glory shines on everything, and there were Inquisitors on duty in the cemetery who caught her. Otherwise, if she had prepared her evil spells, who knows how many people in Adelajang would have died..."

Walking behind the middle-aged man, Lucien roughly understood what had happened from Aunt Elisa's muttering. The witch had been caught by the church's Inquisitors while stealing a corpse from the cemetery. As her neighbor, Lucien had been questioned by the church. The church might have used some divine magic to clear the real Lucien of suspicion but also caused him mental or physical harm, leading to a serious illness and death, allowing Lucien to possess his body.

Seeing that Lucien was not speaking, the middle-aged man patted his shoulder and whispered, "Elisa is always like this, just ignore her."

Lucien didn't know what to say, so he just nodded.

The middle-aged man looked at Aunt Elisa's back and sighed quietly. "Ah, Elisa used to be a pure and passionate beautiful girl, but after giving birth to little John, it was as if she was cursed by a demon. In just a year, she became like this."

He looked as if he was full of life's reflections, his gaze deep. Then he paused, "I can't fight her anymore."

Having just traveled through time and witnessed the power of divine magic, Lucien was greatly impacted and was in a state of mental unrest. He just managed a weak smile and didn't answer directly, as he didn't know how to address the man.

Perhaps the man was too engrossed in his memories and didn't notice his voice, but Elisa huffed, "Joel, you, the idealistic and passionate bard who came to Alto to pursue your musical dreams, also became a drunkard."

Joel chuckled awkwardly. "Alto is the City of Chanting. Every day, countless young people come here to pursue their musical dreams, but how many actually succeed? Elisa, besides, since little John started training, I've quit drinking, haven't I?"

Aunt Elisa turned and glared at him. "Thankfully, with the Lord's protection, you still know that our hopes are in John and Evan. If not for little John's daily training, how could he have been chosen by Sir Wayne to receive formal knight training at his estate? If he can awaken the 'Divine Grace' in his blood, he can become a true knight and be ennobled by the Duke, becoming a respected noble."

Joel's shoulders hunched under her stern gaze, but Elisa quickly noticed Lucien's dazed expression. "Oh, sorry, little Evans, I didn't mean to bring up that. You are also very talented, just, just didn't start training from a young age..."

Realizing she was touching on Lucien's inner pain, Elisa quickly shut her mouth and signaled Joel to speak.

Joel laughed and patted Lucien's shoulder again. "Our little Evans can't be so fragile. He's the man who will inherit his Uncle Joel's dream of becoming a musician."

Lucien, still in a state of mental unrest, could only force a smile. "Yes, my dream is to become a musician."

Seeing that Lucien showed no signs of abnormality, Elisa continued to chatter about various trivial matters, which helped Lucien gain a better understanding of the city he was in.

This was a large city called Alto, near the Dark Mountains, known as the City of Chanting, prosperous and full of opportunities.

Currently, he lived in the Adelajang district, a poor area of Alto, and it seemed that he had lost his fixed job helping to transport goods in the market district due to a serious illness a few days ago.

Soon, the four of them arrived at Lucien's small house.

Aunt Elisa wanted to invite Lucien to her house for dinner, but Lucien, who needed quiet, politely declined.

As they parted, Evan asked Lucien curiously, "Big brother Lucien, when did your dream become to be a musician?"

"Just now," Lucien said numbly.

Evan let out a long "Oh."

Entering the house and locking the door, Lucien sat down in a daze, his elbows on the wooden table, and his head buried in his arms.

"I actually traveled through time!"

"And to a world with superhuman powers."

"One wrong move and I could be burned alive on the stake."

The emotions he had suppressed while watching the witch's tragic end finally burst out when he was alone. Lucien was shocked, scared, and terrified.

Of course, as someone who hadn't experienced much, Lucien, though somewhat introverted and prone to panic, managed to remain calm under the immense pressure, only losing control after returning home.

It must be said that the environment and circumstances were the greatest tests of a person.

As time passed and darkness fell, Lucien gradually adapted to the fear and calmed down. Since he had already traveled through time, being anxious, worried, or afraid would not help. He could only take things one step at a time, and if he died again, there might not be another chance to travel through time.

With his emotions under control, he suppressed his thoughts of his parents and friends and began to plan his life. But just as he was about to do so, a wave of hunger hit him, his stomach feeling like it was on fire, and his mouth watering uncontrollably.

Swallowing, he knew that filling his stomach was the top priority. Lucien stopped thinking and walked to the only storage box in the room.

In the old box, besides some clothes, Lucien saw two black bread-like foods and seven copper coins that shimmered with a metallic glow.

His stomach had taken over his brain, and he had no energy to think about anything else. He picked up a piece of black bread and started to bite into it.

Crunch! Lucien quickly covered his mouth, nearly breaking his teeth. Was this bread or a stick?

Sniffing it, Lucien reluctantly confirmed that it was indeed bread, just so hard it could knock out an adult.

Struggling with his hunger, Lucien found a flint in the box. After a few failed attempts, he finally managed to light the wood in the stove and began to toast the bread properly.

"Red-braised pork, spicy chicken wings, steamed beef, Kung Pao chicken..." As he toasted the bread, Lucien muttered about delicious foods, his mouth watering uncontrollably.

The black bread became slightly softer, and Lucien couldn't resist biting into it. The taste was so terrible, it was like chewing on wood chips.

But Lucien still devoured it, eating while lamenting, "If I have to eat this every day, I might as well die. No, I must earn money, I must escape this poor life."

"If I could learn divine magic and become a bishop or a priest..." In his daydreams, Lucien remembered the well-dressed bishops and priests he had seen at the church, their superhuman powers and the noble status they derived from them, and his heart raced. "But in my current state, going to the church would be suicide. I wonder if there are other ways to gain superhuman powers? Like that 'Divine Grace'?"

"If I can't gain such powers, will the knowledge I have be useful in this world?"

After satisfying his hunger, Lucien began to seriously analyze his path to survival. But as he recalled the knowledge he had learned, he suddenly realized that something seemed to have been added to his mind.

Upon closer inspection, Lucien's eyes widened in surprise. "Aren't these the books from the library? Did they come with me through time?"

His mind contained an entire library of books, not as memories but as projections, neatly categorized and available for Lucien to read.

Curious, Lucien flipped through the books, but he found that most of them could not be opened.

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